This Urdu rap artiste, set to perform in the city today, is using her art to talk about the spaces that she has grown up in
Saniya MQ, who started writing Urdu shayari and ghazals when she was in school, is today known for her clear voice and “diss tracks” that highlight societal issues such as government apathy and corruption
Woh kare baat toh har lafz se khushbu aaye/Aisi boli wahi bole jise Urdu aaye.”
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The above verse by Ahmed Wasi insists that only those who know Urdu can speak in a way that every word seems to have a fragrance of its own. Not even Wasi may have thought that this might apply to the unlikely genre of hip hop. But Saniya MQ seems to be a living embodiment of this.
For the rap musician from Govandi, the reality of fame hasn’t sunk in yet. The 18-year-old will be performing at Spoken Fest’s prelude this Sunday and in its upcoming edition in February, and has previously worked with Emiway Bantai, but to her, it’s about the art, not the fame. “Art mere liye zubaan hai, azaadi hai,” she says. “It’s my way of life.”
Saniya, who’s currently a first-year mass media student, first fell in love with her chosen language while studying in an Urdu-medium school. She recalls trying her hand out at writing her own verses as early as Class XI. But it was only in the pandemic, when she had just finished her Class X that she started focusing on the whole production process of her art. She would write for first three days of of the week, record it with the beats on the fourth day, shoot the video on the fifth day, and edit and upload it over the weekend. Her cameraman was her younger brother, and she received guidance from MC Heam, a
rap instructor.
“Rap music, for me, is deeply personal. It is not just about my problems, but about the society and people around me,” she emphasises. Her recent project, Shaher, was a six-track EP released in October last year. Each track captures a facet of the issues impacting the nation; for example, the eponymous title track is about corruption among police and politicians in her neighbourhood, Govandi; Nalayak is about the angst and identity crisis of studenthood, while Mai Ek Shayara Hoon is about the judgement and cynosure that comes with being a female rapper.
Her “diss tracks” about the state of her hometown have not gone unnoticed. She’s already had a visit from a local politician who asked what she thinks of herself. We’re expecting a reference to Mirza Ghalib’s Har Ek Baat Pe Kehte Ho Tum Ke Tu Kya Hai but the young upstart has something of her own.
“I incorporated it into Shaher’s title track. Wo bole kaafi likhti ho/hum agli baar se dhyan denge/kaam pe bhi, aap pe bhi/chalti hoon mein accha…(They said, ‘You write a lot, we will keep an eye on you and your work next time…),,” she tells us.
Ask her what her art means to her and she doesn’t hesitate. “We all close our eyes when we see something wrong; but when we see something good being done, we find ways to criticise it,” she says. “There are lots of stories that people don’t want to listen to, and which go unsaid. Since I know these stories, it is my responsibility to tell them. I will be the medium; I will be the voice of the people who can’t tell their own story.”
WHAT: Spoken 2024: Prelude
WHEN: January 7, 4.30 PM onwards
WHERE: antiSOCIAL, Lower Parel
PRICE: Rs 499 onwards
TO BOOK: insider.in
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